The Perfect Proposal Ambition
by Angelic Guardian
Summary: On the night of Sheldon and Amy's wedding, Penny decides that she's finally going to propose to Leonard, and she plans on making it absolutely perfect.
1. Shamy Wedding

**Author's Note:** This is just my take on how I think Penny could propose to Leonard. I decided to use Sheldon and Amy's wedding as a catalyst. Hope you like it.

**Disclaimer: **The Big Bang Theory © Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady

* * *

In the past decade that Penny had come to know and love Sheldon Cooper in her own special way, she could honestly say that she'd never seen him so happy as she had in this very moment. Sure, he was a genius with a ridiculously high IQ, one that didn't at all help him when it came to being a normal person in social situations, but when it came to human emotions, damn, did he amaze her at times.

He was good at making people think he was some emotionless robot, or, as he would put it, some advanced human species incapable of allowing his emotions to get the best of him. Try as he might, though, he could never truly mask his feelings. When he was upset, you knew it by the way he'd hide away in his room like a child, or wrap himself up in a blanket and refuse to flat-out tell people what was bothering him until someone forced it out of him.

But then, other times, when he was happy, really,_ really_ happy, that was very obvious, too. It was the kind of happiness a person only felt when they were in the presence of the one they were in love with. It was that wonderful, warm feeling that spread through your heart and made you feel more alive than you've ever felt, like you could conquer anything just as long as the love of your life was there by your side. It was an undying, intense and downright _magical _thing to witness.

And that was exactly what Penny was seeing in Sheldon right now as he danced with his new bride. He was smiling, not fake-smiling, but actually _smiling, _and the most amazing part was that he wasn't even trying to hide it. His blue eyes were radiant as he stared into the eyes of his beloved Amy, who looked as though she, herself, were completely over the moon. She looked beautiful with her hair up in a bun, her cheeks dusted in a lovely shade of rouge, her green eyes sparkling behind her elegant frames. She clung to Sheldon as if she never wanted to let go, not that Sheldon seemed to mind. If his arms around her waist and that adorable little smile of his were any indication, Penny would have to conclude that he was definitely enjoying it.

It was incredible to see Sheldon like this, because he seemed like a totally different person, and in many ways, he was. Hell, they all were. After nearly ten years of living across the hall from him, he'd really grown up a lot. Penny, too, was no longer the same party girl she once was, the ditzy blond who loved drinking wine and making out with guys.

Okay, so she did still love wine…and making out, but only with _one_ guy_. _Her special someone, the guy she could turn to for anything, whether it be in times of happiness or crisis. In retrospect, it was pretty crazy to think that it took her over five years to finally tell Leonard that she loved him, yet when she finally said it out loud, there was a part of her that knew that she'd loved him all along. Not at first, of course, because when she'd first met him, he was really nothing more than a nice, nerdy guy with a psychotic roommate.

Now, he was so much more than that. He was a sweetheart, a romantic, a gentleman, a wonderful friend and boyfriend, and his nerdy qualities were all the more adorable to her. She loved him. She'd always love him. He was her everything.

"Hey, you," the charming little devil himself said, snapping Penny out of her reverie. She looked up as he took a seat next to her at the head table. He was grinning ear-to-ear, showing off those perfect teeth of his.

Penny found herself grinning right back at him. "Hey, you," she replied in the same playful tone, automatically leaning in to give him a light peck on the lips. "I was wondering what was taking you so long. You didn't get lost on your way to the bathroom, did you?"

Leonard wrinkled his eyebrows. "What? No, of course not."

Penny stared at him intently. He finally cracked and bowed his head a little.

"Okay, yeah," he confessed sheepishly.

Penny grinned again, as sweetly as she could. Sure, he was smart when it came to physics, but silly stuff like that, not so much. She placed a hand on his arm and patted him tenderly. He briefly glanced down before looking back up at her, a smile returning to his face. Penny's own smile widened. He was so cute when he was embarrassed.

She suddenly tugged on his sleeve and sprang up. "C'mon, let's dance."

Leonard's smile dropped as he groaned, "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Penny said cheekily. "I'm the maid of honor, so I make the rules."

"That doesn't make any sense," Leonard protested, but Penny just raised an eyebrow, knowing he'd cave eventually. "Besides, _I'm_ the best man, so with that logic, my importance ranks equally to yours, which means you can't force me to dance and look like an idiot in front of everyone."

Penny sighed and plopped back down in her seat. "Fine, if you don't want to dance, we won't dance." She paused and lifted her chin in the direction of the happy bride and groom. "The Shamy's really tearing up the dance floor, though."

Leonard looked out at the dance floor as well. Amy's head was resting against Sheldon's chest. One of her hands was on his shoulder, while the other was being held inside his own as they softly swayed together. Other couples were slow dancing as well, including Howard and a very pregnant Bernadette.

Penny felt another grin spread over her face. She saw Leonard look at her from the corner of her eye, but she couldn't seem to break her gaze from the blissful newlyweds. It was like they were in their own little world.

"They look really happy, don't they?" she said, watching them for a few seconds longer, until she finally forced herself to tear her gaze away. She was met with a glowing look in Leonard's soft brown eyes. He placed his hand on top of hers, and instantly, she could feel her heart dissolving from the contact, melting her right to her very core. There was so much love in the gesture; it was like he couldn't contain it all.

"They do," Leonard murmured.

Penny grinned softly, letting her heart take over as she leaned forward and kissed him again. He kissed her back deeply, yet at the same time, very gently. He was capable of it all, that passion when she needed it, and the tenderness that she secretly craved. He seemed to grow more and more in tune with her each day. She'd never had a closeness like this with any of her other boyfriends.

Leonard was…the one. _Her _one.

He squeezed her hand, and she released a small moan, soft enough for only him to hear. By the time he pulled away, she was completely breathless. His lips cricked upward in another cute little smile. He looked down at their hands, his still cupped on top of hers, then looked back up at her and began to stand up.

"Come on," he said, lifting her hand to his chest. "Let's dance."

She suddenly felt like crying, but she was grinning so hard now that she felt like her cheeks were going to split apart. She rose to her feet and let Leonard guide her to the dance floor. Once there, he took her by the waist and drew himself so close to her that their noses brushed together. Penny slid her arms around his neck and followed his lead as he began to rock her back and forth in his arms.

An incredibly sappy, dated love song began to play, and while Penny typically wasn't a fan of that kind of music, right now, it sounded like the most beautiful song she'd ever heard in her life. Sheldon and Amy's happiness must've been rubbing off on her, because she felt positively giddy right now, like a young teenager falling in love for the first time.

"I love you, Leonard," she whispered spontaneously.

"I love you, too," Leonard replied simply. He'd said it so many times in their relationship before, but none of those times had affected her as much as it did right now. She briefly wondered if that was just from all the wine she'd had, making her feel looser and more loving than usual, but she knew that that wasn't it.

In these past several months of planning and perfecting every detail of this wedding, Penny had finally started looking at marriage in a different light. Before, she'd only ever seen it as a form of imprisonment. After all, it was a life-long commitment, _'til death do us part,_ and the idea of being stuck with someone for the rest of her life had always been nothing short of terrifying to her.

Now, however, things were different. She'd been in a committed relationship with Leonard for a long time, and at this point in her life, she knew she'd never be able to live without him. Judging by the way Leonard was holding her and smiling at her right now, she knew that he felt the same way.

The sad part about it, though, was that he'd done so much for her throughout the years, but she'd hardly ever reciprocated, which made her feel pretty crappy. She'd always suspected that he'd had a thing for her from the very first day they met. She was young and stupid back then, thinking she could make things right with guys who were nothing but selfish jerks.

Then again, she'd been a selfish jerk, too. She could admit to herself now that she not-so-innocently used to use Leonard's affections to get him to do countless favors for her. She was ashamed of herself for it now, as it made her feel like a downright terrible person, especially since Leonard of all people didn't deserve to be taken advantage of like that.

After all, he'd already put up with so much in his life, having been bullied in school, not to mention living with an emotionally distant mother who never gave him the slightest bit of attention that he so desperately needed growing up. After everything he'd been through, Leonard deserved love and happiness more than anyone. He deserved to be treated like he was special, because he was, and the thought of anyone convincing him otherwise just plain broke Penny's heart.

"You okay, sweetie?" Leonard asked. "You look like you're about to start crying."

"I'm fine," Penny said, but her voice came out squeaky, startling her. Her eyes widened as Leonard looked at her in confusion. She cleared her throat and shook her head, smiling again. "Everyone cries at weddings, right? Don't think I didn't see you tearing up during the ceremony."

"What are you talking about?" Leonard said, though the slight color flooding into his cheeks made it all the more apparent that he'd been caught. "I didn't 'tear up.'"

"You most certainly did," Sheldon cut in.

Penny looked up at the whack-a-doodle theoretical physicist, his blue eyes blazing with criticism. She looked at her boyfriend, who now had a troubling look in his eyes. As much as Sheldon had changed, he would still always be a pain in the ass know-it-all. Penny rolled her eyes.

"That's enough, Sheldon," she said, knowing he was very much ready to go off on an annoying rant, in which he'd pinpoint the exact moment when Leonard started to get all teary-eyed. All it would accomplish would be embarrassing Leonard. Sheldon so wanted to do it, too. She could see the disappointment on his face.

"Enough of what?" he asked. "I was merely going to point out that Leonard—"

"Penny said can it, sweetheart."

That caught Sheldon's attention. He snapped his head to look at Amy, his eyes wider than ever.

_"Sweetheart?_ Really, Amy? Do you honestly think that just because you and I are married now, you can toss around hackneyed pet names with the assumption that they'll have some sort of submissive effect on m—"

Amy kissed him, effectively swallowing the rest of his words. Penny did a silent cheer at the sight of it. _You go, girl. _Not wanting to ogle them, though, she turned back to Leonard and gave him another kiss.

"What the hell just happened?" Leonard asked after she pulled away.

Penny couldn't help chuckling at that. She shook her head and shrugged, still swaying with him. "Amy's got a lot of power over him now."

_"There's_ an understatement," Leonard scoffed.

Penny smiled once more and turned her head so that she could press it against Leonard's shoulder. She closed her eyes and exhaled, relaxing herself in his hold. The slow song ended and a faster one started to play, but the two of them kept swaying back and forth in the same slow, even rhythm, as if in their own little world.

* * *

The reception was winding down now. There were a few couples left on the dance floor, but a lot of people were getting ready to leave. Penny sat at the head table, mashing her fork against her nearly finished piece of wedding cake. She raked her fork through the last remnants of lavender icing that had been shaped like a rose, before bringing the fork up to her mouth to eat the sugary sweet frosting.

"Hi, Penny."

Penny looked up to see Bernadette, who was grinning and clutching a protective hand over her swollen stomach. Penny set down her fork and offered Bernadette a friendly grin as she took a seat next to her.

"Hey, Bernadette," she said. "Did you have a fun time tonight?"

"Yes, of course I did. It was a beautiful wedding," Bernadette said, still smiling. "Not as special as mine and Howie's, but who's comparing?"

Penny let out a small laugh as she picked up her glass of wine, swirling the dark red liquid inside. She raised it to her lips and took a sip.

"So, Penny," Bernadette started, a suspicious hint of slyness in her tone, "I saw you and Leonard out there on the dance floor. You two looked awfully cute together."

Penny swallowed her wine, raising her eyebrows as she felt her face getting warm. "Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks. Yeah, you know, we were just having fun."

"You looked like you couldn't take your eyes off each other," Bernadette said, which only made Penny feel more uncomfortable. Luckily, though, it didn't last long as Amy approached the table.

"Ah, there they are," the bride said, taking a seat on the other side of Penny, "my best friend and my pregnant friend who looks like she's about to pop any day now."

Bernadette frowned at her. "I'm not due for another two months."

"I know," Amy said, "but your petite frame makes you look that much larger now that you're carrying around Howard's child in your uterus. Of course, with your and Howard's combined genes, you'll be lucky if your children grow up to be even five feet tall."

Penny looked at Amy with widened eyes, knowing fully well that Bernadette probably wanted to kill her right about now. Yet, the unwavering, content smile on Amy's face only proved that she clearly didn't seem to notice just how rude it was to say something like that to an overly sensitive pregnant woman hopped up on hormones.

"By the way, Penny," Amy said, "since I've neglected to do so at the time, I just wanted to thank you now for persuading me into purchasing this simple silk wedding gown instead of that much more elaborately designed dress I'd had my eye on."

"Oh, sure, no problem. After all, that's what the maid of honor's for, right?" Penny asked with a grin, yet on the inside, she cringed as she recalled the dress that Amy had originally wanted to buy. It was some sort of feathery, puffy monstrosity that was just plain _ugly,_ not to mention a complete mockery of any normal, traditional wedding dress. Thankfully, though, Penny had convinced Amy to try on a simple wedding dress that turned out to look beautiful and elegant on her.

"Not to mention," Amy went on, a new smirk forming over her lips, "what with all of those buttons and complicated lacing that that other dress had, it would've made it all the more difficult for Sheldon to tear it off of my ready and willing body before throwing me onto the king-sized bed and ravishing me into oblivion, as he will be doing tonight."

Penny blinked and slowly set down her wine glass, suddenly feeling sick.

"What are you guys, _animals?__"_ Bernadette remarked, shocked and repulsed at the same time.

Amy smiled, apparently proud to be talking about this while not at all realizing how inappropriate and awkward it was to hear. "I don't see why you both look so surprised. After all, Sheldon is a very passionate man when it comes to science, and when it comes to love making, he's just as passionate."

Penny clamped her lips shut, fighting the urge to snort obnoxiously at that. She'd always known Sheldon to be completely opposed to anything and everything related to sex, as if he were a little kid who still thought that girls had cooties. The idea of him actually having a libido and knowing what to do about it was just…really, really weird.

"So, Penny," Bernadette said, directing the conversation elsewhere,"Sheldon and Amy just got married, Howie and I are having a baby… What's next for you and Leonard?"

Penny looked between the two women, who were both eagerly staring at her now. She cleared her throat and averted her gaze, not expecting this prying question. Nevertheless, her mouth started running a mile a minute.

"Um, well, I don't know. Leonard and I are pretty happy where we are in our relationship right now. He's been staying over my apartment so many nights that it's practically like he's living with me already. He just doesn't want to go through the hassle of moving all of his stuff across the hall and making room for his video games and comic books and medicine and everything. I guess the next big step would be getting engaged, but Leonard hasn't really brought up marriage ever since I agreed that I'd be the one to propose to him. And, actually, I've been thinking about it a lot recently, and, well…it's not so much that I'm afraid of commitment anymore, because honestly, I can't picture spending the rest of my life with anyone but Leonard. I guess it's more that I'm afraid of screwing up the proposal somehow, and I don't want to do that to Leonard because, after everything he's done for me, he deserves an absolutely perfect proposal."

Bernadette and Amy stared at her in silence.

"Hold on," Amy said, shaking her head as she held up her hands with all of her fingers fanned out. "Are you saying that you, a pretty young blonde woman in her sexual prime, one who can still easily use her ample bosom and outgoing personality to get any guys she wants, the same woman who's always been terrified to move forward in her relationship with the man who's always worshiped the ground she walks on out of fear that something will go wrong down the line, _you, _of all people, are actually ready for _marriage?"_

Penny bit her lip. It was really unsettling when Amy was so…_on__-point_ like that. She made it seem like Penny was the crazy one.

"How much did you have to drink tonight?" Bernadette added.

"Okay, I realize you guys are surprised, but can you tone it down just a little bit?" Penny asked, bringing up her hand with her index finger and thumb just barely touching each other.

"Sorry," Bernadette said. "I guess I'll believe it when I see an engagement ring on Leonard's finger."

Penny cocked her head and let her jaw fall open with a small scoff. "I'm _not_ going to give Leonard an engagement ring. Just because I'm the one who's going to propose to him doesn't mean I'm gonna go out and buy him a ring and present it to him like he's the girl in the relationship."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the fact that you'll be the one proposing take away any last remnants of masculine authority Leonard may have had in your relationship?" Amy asked.

"Are you saying Leonard's whipped?" Penny countered.

"Whipped like a can of cream, yes," Amy said with a nod.

"Oh, _please,_ Ames, you're one to talk. Just look at you and Sheldon. He's like your very own puppy that you've got on a very short leash."

"While I'm not going to deny that there very well may be some validity to that statement, I can safely assure you that Sheldon very much knows how to…_dominate_ a situation, if you catch my drift."

Penny stared at Amy for a long moment while silently shuddering at the thought of that disturbing mental image. She held up her hands and sighed, beyond aggravated with this conversation. "Look, my point is, I love Leonard, and I want to do a very special proposal for him."

"Wait, so…you really are ready to get engaged?" Bernadette asked.

Penny looked at her, and then at Amy, both of whom looked serious now. She raised her shoulders. "Yeah. I am."

"Oh my God," Bernadette squealed. "That's huge!"

"I _know,"_ Penny said, starting to absorb some of Bernadette's new found energy.

"Can I be your maid of honor?" Amy asked with just as much excitement.

"Hey, that's not fair," Bernadette said. "You already got to be my maid of honor. I should get to be Penny's."

"But Penny and I are BFFLs, otherwise known as best friends for life," Amy said, and when Penny eyed her in confusion, she explained, "Yes, that's right. I know hip new abbreviations now."

"How are you going to propose to him, anyway?" Bernadette asked.

The giddy feeling that had begun to swarm through Penny's chest started to dwindle slightly. She looked across the large reception hall and easily spotted Leonard. He was sitting with Sheldon, Howard and Raj, the four of them talking and enjoying each other's company. Leonard grinned widely, looking handsome as always.

Penny found herself slowly grinning at the sight of him. Apparently, he could make her smile without even being near her. When did _that_ start happening?

"That's a good question," she said, turning back to her friends. "Help me brainstorm, girls."


	2. Lenny Proposal

"Have fun on your honeymoon," Penny said as she drew back from Sheldon, having just shared a quick yet affectionate hug with him. She beamed up at him. "I love you, sweetie."

Sheldon's eyes narrowed as his eyebrows tightened together. Penny could feel her smile slipping, knowing all too well that Sheldon was about to say something very Sheldony.

"Penny," he started with one simple shake of his head. "Must I point out how obscenely inappropriate it is to hit on a married man, especially one whose wife is standing within earshot?"

Penny's jaw went slack. All she could do was stare at him, dumfounded, watching as he started to shake his head some more. She closed her mouth and looked at Amy, who was shaking her own head, but, unlike Sheldon, she was smiling in sheer amusement. Amy reached up and skimmed her hand down Sheldon's arm, causing him to snap his head to her.

"She didn't mean it in a romantic way, Sheldon," Amy informed him, now trailing a single finger back up his arm, her face brightening with a teasing smile.

Sheldon's eyes looked darker all of a sudden as he watched Amy's finger gingerly travel up his arm. "Well, that's a relief," he said softly, staring at Amy as though he only had eyes for her.

Penny rolled her own eyes, grinning nonetheless. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a cool breeze gently sweep through the night air. A small group of them had congregated outside of the reception hall, taking their turns saying their goodbyes and good wishes to Sheldon and Amy before the two were whisked away to enjoy their first night together as husband and wife.

Leonard managed to pull Sheldon away from Amy long enough to say whatever it was he needed to say to him. Penny watched them. They were both trying to look like a couple of cool guys, but she could clearly see the both of them trying their damn hardest not to smile at each other in a way that only two best friends would.

Her onlooking was cut short when Amy walked up to her and embraced her, wrapping her arms around her best friend's back.

"Thank you for everything you did to make my special day with Sheldon absolutely perfect," Amy said. "You truly are a remarkable human being, Penny. I feel like the luckiest woman alive to call you my best friend."

"Aww, likewise, Ames," Penny said sincerely, slowly drawing back from Amy while still clutching her shoulders. "You're a beautiful bride, and Sheldon damn well knows it, too. I'm so unbelievably happy for you guys."

"I know," Amy said with a nod, smiling brightly. "I'm happy for us, too."

Penny exhaled through her nose and grinned wider. She started to release Amy, but not before the brunette leaned in towards her ear and whispered, "Good luck." She then pulled back, offering her an innocent smile.

Penny, meanwhile, felt a powerful shiver zap through her body. This time, though, the bristling chill had much less to do with the cool temperature outside and much more to do with what Amy was wishing her luck on. After bouncing some ideas off of Amy and Bernadette, Penny was confident that she'd managed to come up with a plan for a pretty damn romantic proposal that would definitely sweep Leonard off his feet and so much more.

She looked at him again and felt a restless flutter in her stomach. It could've been a combination of the alcohol and delicious cake she'd had, or perhaps from the overall excitement of the day, or maybe from the still-fresh-in-her-mind memory of being in Leonard's arms as they danced together.

As Leonard gave in and finally smiled at Sheldon, Penny found herself smiling, too. "Thanks," she said with a soft sigh, her stomach still churning. "I think I'm gonna need it."

* * *

"I am _exhausted,"_ Leonard said as he and Penny made their up the stairs to their floor. He'd already unraveled his tie and undone a few buttons of his shirt, while Penny had slipped out of her heels and was now carrying them along with her purse in her hand.

"Me too," Penny said. She couldn't wait to take off her maid of honor dress and slip into a comfy pair of PJs. She glanced at Leonard, who brought up his hand to cover his mouth as he started to yawn. As he started to move his hand away, Penny reached out and grabbed it, lacing her fingers through his. The momentary look of surprise that crossed Leonard's face made it all the more worth it.

He looked at her, his lips parted, then down at their hands, now tightly intertwined, as though they were one. He looked back up at her as they rounded the third floor and started ascending the last flight that led to their floor. "Okay, I gotta ask…what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Penny asked as nonchalantly as she could.

"Well, it's kind of weird that you're being so…" He took a second or two to search for the right word and finally decided on, _"…affectionate._ Should I be worried that you're up to something?"

_Yes. _"No, don't be silly. What, just 'cause I'm holding your hand, you think I'm up to no good?"

"That, or I'm in trouble for something I can't remember doing, and you're just trying to soften the blow by being extra nice to me," Leonard said.

Having reached their floor, Penny stopped and fully turned her body to face him, gently letting go of his hand. Leonard stared at her, his eyebrows crinkling and his mouth curving into a pout. Seeing him like that, looking so incredibly anxious, almost made Penny want to get down on one knee and propose to him right then and there, just so she could finally settle his nerves, and he could finally understand why she wasn't acting life herself.

A flirtatious grin spread over her face as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, hoping to kiss away the adorable little pout on his face. When she pulled away, though, he looked all the more confused. Apparently being _more_ affectionate was only making it worse.

Sighing, Penny loosely cupped Leonard's jaw in her palm, running her thumb over his chin. "Maybe I'm just drunk," she said, trying to throw him off.

"No, I've seen you drunk literally _hundreds_ of times," Leonard said. "You aren't slurring your words or trying to get me into bed, so that's definitely not it. You're up to something."

Penny frowned, disappointed with herself. He knew her too well. "Well," she started, deciding to take a new route since this one was failing miserably. She let go of his chin, only to clasp her hand against his shoulder. She leaned in towards him again, purposely brushing her nose against his as she whispered seductively, "Who says I'm _not_ trying to get you into bed?"

She kissed him fully on the lips, knowing it would do him in, and sure enough, he immediately reciprocated by wrapping his arms around her back and eagerly moving his lips against hers. She dropped her shoes and her purse in favor of wrapping both of her arms around his neck, and she let him back her against her door, where her head nearly clunked against the gold 4B plate.

Without breaking the kiss, she slipped one arm off his neck and flung her hand back to grope for the doorknob. When she found it, she tried to twist it open, only to realize that in the midst of this impromptu make-out session, she was forgetting something very obvious. "Mmm…keys," she mumbled around Leonard's mouth.

"Mmm…right," he mumbled back, but he kept kissing her, leaving Penny with no choice but to grab either side of his face and pull his lips away from hers. She breathed out heavily, smiling at the sight of her lipstick smudged across his lips. She rubbed her thumb against the corner of his mouth just before he let go of her and turned around to get her purse.

"You know," Penny started, still a little out of breath as she walked over to him to pick up her discarded heels. "I was actually thinking… Could we maybe spend the night at your place instead?"

Leonard glanced up at her from beneath his glasses, his suspicions clearly rising up to the surface again. "What's wrong with _your_ apartment?"

"Nothing, it's just…what with Sheldon moving out to live with Amy, you've got that extra bedroom now, so I figured we might as well…put it to good use," Penny said, grinning suggestively.

"Hold on," Leonard said, taking a step towards her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Penny gave him the sauciest look she could muster as she nodded her head while slowly and deliberately licking her upper lip. That was all it took for Leonard to drop her bag, and for the shoes in each of her hands to fall back onto the ground as Leonard wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hard. Penny simply wound her arms around his neck once again, smirking against his lips.

* * *

The sunshine attacking Penny's eyes was sudden and very much unwelcome. She groaned as she grabbed her pillow and slid it from underneath her head, curving half of it over her face. She shifted her body closer to the center of the bed, and as she did, she realized that she had a lot of space. She blinked in confusion and let go of the pillow to see that she was, in fact, alone in the bed.

She sat up, lifting a hand to her face to sweep a strand of disheveled blond hair out of her eyes as she looked around Leonard's bedroom. After their passionate night in the neighboring empty bedroom, they'd found their way back into Leonard's bedroom to sleep. It was one thing to have sex in your old roommate's bedroom, but to sleep in there would have been a whole new level of creepy that Penny didn't want to touch.

She flung the covers off her body and got up, clad in only her purple robe. She walked barefoot out of Leonard's room and into the hallway, where she could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen. She found Leonard there, standing in front of the stove as he fried up some eggs. He turned his head and smiled at her.

"Morning, cowgirl," he said with a wink.

Penny smirked at the nickname as her mind briefly flashed back to last night. She sauntered up to him and gave him a quick good morning kiss. She leaned over his shoulder to look at the fluffy scrambled eggs he was mixing with a spatula. "Look at you, making breakfast," she said teasingly. "You're like a cute little housewife."

Leonard frowned, turning to her. "Housewife?"

"I'm only kidding," Penny assured him. When the frown on his face still wouldn't budge, she reached up and pinched his cheek, before releasing him and walking to the couch. She sat down in Sheldon's spot, just because she could, and crossed her legs.

Leonard returned to his eggs, and Penny watched him for a while. He looked so cute in his dark red robe and his hair still a mess from last night. Penny felt a grin spread across her face. She could get used to this, waking up with him every morning, both dressed in robes. They could take turns making each other breakfast, before Leonard would have to get ready to go to work in the morning. Penny could do some online shopping before she'd have to go slave away at the Cheesecake Factory.

Or, better yet, maybe she could go back to school again while going on a few auditions here and there. Eventually, she'd land a lead movie role and finally become rich. She could buy Leonard a new car, buy herself a whole new wardrobe, even buy them a house and a cute little dog, like a Pomeranian or a Yorkie. Then, after a few years, she and Leonard would have their first child together, an adorable little girl. They'd give her a pretty name like Rebecca, or Melanie, or maybe Kaley, and she'd grow up to be a perfect blend of both her parents, smart and beautiful.

The more Penny thought about all of this, the more excited she felt, and it was then that she realized that she didn't want to wait until tonight over dinner to propose to Leonard as she'd originally planned.

She wanted to propose to him right now.

Maybe the realization should've terrified her, but instead, all it did was excite her even more. She could feel her heart pumping with adrenaline, fueling her and encouraging her to just _go for it._

"Hey, Leonard," she said, rising from the couch. When he turned around to face her, she felt her breath catch in her throat. "I-I, uh…" She trailed off, starting to lose her nerve. She cleared her throat. She needed to buy some time. Going with the first thing that popped into her brain, she pointed to the door with her thumb. "I'm just gonna go over to my place so I can get changed really quick."

Leonard stared at her, looking somewhat suspicious again, which downright _scared_ her now, because he could've seen right through her for all she knew. Then, he just shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Eggs are almost done, though, so don't take too long."

With that, he turned back to the stove and continued mixing the eggs. Penny stood there a moment, feeling like she'd just gotten away with murder with his casual response. Not wanting to waste any time, she promptly headed for the door, grabbing the spare key to her apartment from the bowl.

After leaving his apartment, she hastily walked across the hall and opened the door to hers. She closed the door behind her and immediately leaned up against it, letting out a long breath to calm herself down, though it didn't really help much.

"Okay," she said through the heavy sigh. "Gotta think fast…"

* * *

Quick thinking and even quicker movements had luckily paid off rather nicely. Penny now stood in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by a ring of tealight candles and donning a huge smile on her face. It had been almost ten minutes since she'd left Leonard's apartment, so she knew that in another minute or so, he'd be opening up the door to see what was taking her so long. The confusion that would definitely be on his face when he'd see her standing there, with all the candles around her, would be absolutely priceless. He'd ask her what was going on, and she wouldn't say a word, but instead, get down on one knee…

…and he would look down to see a full helping of her boobs. _Crap. _She wasn't wearing a bra under her robe. Her shameless nudity would definitely take away from the romantic atmosphere she was trying to go for. She needed to put on a bra, and fast.

She carefully stepped over the circle of candles and opened the door to her apartment, where she sprinted towards her bedroom. Once inside, she opened up one of her drawers and started shoving aside clothes. As she dug through shirt after pair of shorts after cute pair of underwear, she found herself wishing that she'd just gone ahead and let Sheldon organize her clothing drawers for her, as he'd offered to do it for her so many times.

Out of desperation, she turned to a small mountain of dirty clothes on the floor. She started quickly sifting through the pile, tossing aside a pair of neon jeans, a couple of tank tops and a few of her laciest thongs, but unfortunately, when she reached the bottom, there wasn't a single bra to be found. _Damn._

She headed to her closet next. She slid apart the hangers where she kept her dresses until she reached the clear bins in the back, where she kept most of her shoes, since she'd run out of room on the closet floor. She pulled open the bottom bin, where she kept miscellaneous accessories: the first Penny Blossom clip she'd ever made, about half a dozen shiny clutch bags she rarely ever used because she didn't want to ruin them by spilling alcohol on them, and finally, a few of her bras.

"Yes!" she said as she pulled out a light pink silk one. She started to put it on as she walked out of her room. Just as she was clasping it around her midsection and hiking one of the straps over her shoulder, she suddenly stopped. She could hear the distinct sound of a high pitched, repeated beeping noise, one that was definitely coming from the hallway. Her heart stopped. _"No."_

She rushed to the door and flung it open, only to find her tealight candles still perfectly intact, the tiny yellow flames all swaying in different rhythms. She could still hear the smoke detector going off like crazy. She quietly stepped into the hallway, only to wind up screaming at the top of her lungs when Leonard shouted from behind the door, "FIRE!"

_"What?"_ Penny shrieked, just as Leonard frantically opened the door to his apartment, where a cloud of light gray smoke came gushing out. Penny's mouth dropped open in horror. "Oh my God, are you oka—_AAH."_ She screamed again as Leonard roughly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her with him, racing down the stairs in a panic.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Leonard and Penny stood across the street from their apartment building with several of their fellow tenants. A gleaming firetruck was parked right outside the building, and a few physically fit firemen walked out of the main doors. One of them had a fire extinguisher in his hands, while another one held a clear bag filled with Penny's tealight candles. She felt her face heat up in embarrassment at the sight of them. _Idiot._

Leonard started to cough again, bringing all of Penny's attention back to him. She'd been rubbing her palm up and down his back, trying to calm him down, as he'd been coughing quite a bit after they'd run down all those steps without taking a breath.

"You all right, sweetie?" she asked, patting his back.

Leonard nodded as he continued coughing. "I'm fine," he said through a wheeze, before placing a hand over his chest and finally taking a deep breath. "I just…I feel like such an _idiot."_

Penny kept her eyes on the fireman holding her candles. "Yeah, well, you and me both."

"You?" Leonard said in confusion. "You're not the one who almost burned down the apartment, let alone the whole _building._ I swear, I walked away from the stove for five seconds, and when I came back, the whole room was filled with smoke. I tried to find the fire extinguisher, but I could barely see a thing in there. I just had to get the hell out. You know what, I actually _wish_ Sheldon would've been there. He would've handled the situation a whole lot better than I did. You'd think with all of the ridiculous safety drills he'd put me through over the years, I would've been more prepared."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Penny said, running her hand down his back. "It was just a little kitchen fire. It could've been a lot worse."

"I guess," Leonard relented slightly, staring across the street at their building.

His apartment window was now wide open, clearing out the last remainder of the smoke. As Penny lightly raked her nails over Leonard's back, he turned his head to her. Her hand stopped moving altogether when his eyes met hers.

"There's just one thing I don't understand," Leonard said. She knew what he was going to say before he even asked it. "The candles in the hallway… What was that all about? Were you planning to do some kind of weird new therapeutic yoga technique or something?"

Penny stared back at him, feeling a knot clench inside her stomach. Her plan was ruined. There was no point lying to him now. So much for the perfect proposal. She could feel her eyes getting watery, and she sniffed, unable to fight the crack in her voice as she forced out a high-pitched, "No."

Leonard's mouth dropped as Penny brought a hand to her own mouth, her eyes scrunching tightly. She let out an involuntary whimper, trying her hardest to keep the tears from flowing, but it all went straight to hell when Leonard grasped her by both of her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"Hey, come on," he said soothingly, running a hand down the length of her hair. "Why are you crying?"

Penny's chest shook against his as she broke down and relentlessly cried against his shoulder. Her voice came out even squeakier as she mumbled into the soft fluffy cotton of his robe, "Because I ruined _everything."_

"What are you talking about?" Leonard asked, still stroking her hair as he held her close to him. "You didn't ruin anything."

_"No," _ she cried out in her shrill, weepy voice, closing her eyes and letting out another sob. It was no use. He just didn't get it. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she confessed hopelessly, "I was going to propose."

Leonard's hand stopped moving. He stopped moving completely. He just kept his body firmly pressed against hers as she let out another ragged breath, her heart pounding ferociously, though whether it was from all the crying she was doing, or what she'd just said to him, Penny couldn't tell anymore.

"What?" Leonard finally asked, pulling away from her very slowly. His eyes were wide and serious, while Penny knew hers must've been all puffy, and her nose must've been red, and her cheeks blotchy with drying tears.

She sniffled again and let out a loose, quivering breath. The tears had finally stopped, thank God, and now, she was just staring into Leonard's brown eyes, soaking up the warmth in them. He looked the most adorably confused he'd ever looked in his life, and it was beginning to bring a smile to Penny's face. The feelings of shame and sadness were melting away, and all that was left was an unexpected, overwhelming feeling of undeniable happiness. Here they were, outside with the warm sun shining down on them, still wearing their robes, and despite the situation and everything that had just happened, this moment just felt…perfect.

"Leonard," Penny began, finally feeling more like herself again, and, most importantly, feeling ready. She rubbed her eyes and smiled, dropping her hand to her side. "I…I just want you to know that you mean so much to me. I know we don't always see eye to eye, but I think all the hardships we've been through have only made us stronger as a couple." She paused, feeling more tears well up in her eyes, though for a whole new reason. "I used to dream about meeting my soul mate, and in all honesty, not even the most handsome prince charming I could've ever dreamed of even begins to come close to how unbelievably amazing _you_ are."

Leonard's eyebrows raised at that. Penny smiled wider.

"You're smart, and handsome, and sweet, and funny, and genuine, and above everything else, you've showed me, time and again, that you really, truly care about me from the bottom of your heart. That's something I've never experienced with any other guy I've ever dated. You care about me and believe in me, and I hope you know that being with you has only made me a better person."

She let out a deep sigh and, with as much poise as she could muster, she lowered herself to the ground and knelt down on one knee. She looked up at Leonard, smiling through her tears.

"And so, Leonard Hofstadter, it's with all the love in my heart that I ask you, as my best friend, my boyfriend and my one, true soul mate…" She reached into the pocket of her robe and withdrew a small object, squeezing it in her hand as she held it up to him. It was an inhaler inscribed with two letters that were surrounded by a heart: _LP._

"Will you marry me?"

Leonard stared at her, speechless, while she let a fresh round of tears trickle down her cheeks. He took the inhaler from her hand, the gold initials bouncing off of the sunlight, and then, he dropped to his own knees with a heavy thud.

"Yes," he said, kissing her flush against the lips. She brought up her hands, cupping his face, grinning and crying and feeling her head spin from all of the emotions whirling through her. His arms wound around her back tightly, and he pulled her closer, so close, in fact, that they both lost their balance, and Leonard's back collided against the ground.

"Mmm, are you okay?" Penny mumbled, but Leonard's lips never left hers.

"Yes," he murmured again, "yes, yes, a million times _yes."_

Penny smiled then and kept kissing her fiancé until he was so out of breath that he had to pull away and use his new inhaler.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you had as much fun reading that as I had writing it. I enjoyed exploring Penny's character, and my Lenny feels, too, haha. ;)

Please don't forget to review. Thanks again. :)


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